The Best Kinds of Friends
by Gwen Gamgee
Summary: Set after the epilogue in the 7th book. AL and Rosie unexpectantly bump into someone on the train to Hogwarts.


**Ok, so _yes,_ Draco is a jerk, we all know this, but come on! Is he really thick as to learn _nothing_ by the end of the last book, and perhaps be capable of passing this onto his son? Am I the only one who thought this as they read the book seven epilogue? So, my response to that, in one shot format. Although, I have to admit, this could totally build into a chapter fic if anyone had the notion... Just credit me, if you do, k?**

**Anyways, this is set right after, and I mean _right_ after, the book seven epilogue. Hope you enjoy!**

"Hey, is this seat taken? I… I wouldn't bother you, but everywhere else is full." The end of the boy's sentense was rather quiet, as if he were afraid of what they might actually have to say, which, Rose reflected, he probably was.

The two occupants of the car gave each other a look, unsure what to do with this development. Al shrugged, seemingly alright with the idea, and while her father had warned against this particular boy, Rose was not one to leave the poor boy in the hall.

"Sure, come in."

Rather nervously, shuffling his feet and not looking up, Scorpius sat down on the same side as Albus, as far from the other two as he could. Again, Rose and her cousin shared a look, and again, Albus just shrugged. Rose sighed. Sometimes her cousin acted much too much like her father. Maybe that's why he was her best friend…

"So," she said, hoping to start conversation, "What house are you hoping to get in?" _Again,_ Albus shrugged, although, Rose noted, this time it was less of a blaise affair, more nervous, stiff.

"Dad says it doesn't really matter," he said, "Though, I think… I think Griffindor would be nice."

"That's kinda what I'm hoping for too," Rose agreed, "Though Ravenclaw sounds nice too. I don't know, it might be boring if everyone around was as smart as I was. What about you Scorpious? What are you hoping for?"

Scorpious shifted nervously, and Albus glanced over, curious. Surely he wanted to be in Slytherin, like the rest of his family?

"Gandpa wants me to be in Slytherin," Scorpious said quietly, not looking at the other two in the compartment, but rather at the wall in front of him, "He says it's a great family honor. Dad… dad said it's not a good idea. He says Slytherin makes you forget what's important. He just wants me to make some real friends. He says real friends are more important then anything else in the world…" He looked down, at the end of little speech, perhaps thinking that he'd said too much.

"We'll be your friends," Rose said quietly, "If you want us too. Won't we Albus?"

Albus glanced at Rose, surprised, then turned to study the boy on the bench next to him. He wasn't anything like he'd pictured a Malfoy to be like. He wasn't proud, or rude, or evil seeming at all. In fact… he seemed like a nice guy. A little shy maybe, but they could get around that…

Scorpious seemed to have taken Albus's pause as reluctance. "You really don't have to," he said, still looking down, "I mean… You being a Potter… you must hate me most of all…"

"Hate you?" Albus asked in surprise, "Why would we hate you?" Scorpious looked up at them for the first time, a sad look in his eyes.

"Don't you?" he asked, plaintifly.

"No!" Rose answered, "Of course we don't!" Albus shook his head in agreement. Scorpious looked back and forth between them in disbelief.

"But…" he said, clearly surprised, "I'm a Malfoy…"

"Yer not your Dad, are you?" Albus asked. Scorpious shook his head. "Or your Granddad?" Again, Scorpious silently answered no. Albus grins and leaned back, arms behind his head.

"Then we're good." Scorpious looked over to Rose, who smiled encourageingly. Finally, Scorpious managed a smile of his own, and they sat like that for a moment, the three of them, terribly pleased with themselves.

They talked for awhile about nothing and everything, from which teachers were bound to be tyrants to who would win the world cup this year, before finally, the trolley came around. Scorpious treated each of his new friends to several candies each. Rose insisted it wasn't nessisary, but Albus thought it was rather nice of him, besides which, he could see where he was coming from. In turn, Al bought him a chocolate frog. Scorpious blushed over the thing and insisted he didn't need it, which Al thought was a funny thing for a chap to do, but again, tried to understand where he was coming from. Must be weird, not having friends before.

In the end, everyone ate what had been bought for them, with thanks all around and everyone trying everyone else's candy anyway. Albus considered this a very good thing, watching Rose laugh as Scorpious's frog jumped on her head, Scorpious appologuiseing profusely as he tried to get it off. By the time the chocolate amphibian was back in Scorpious's lap, they were all laughing. Even Scorpious. Then, the car door opened.

Albus scowled at his brother. They had _just _gotten Scorpious to feel relaxed, and now he was tense and quiet again. Besides, Albus's older brother, along with his friend, were looking at Scorpious like he was a strange, yet highly dangerous animal, something Albus did not appreciate.

"Can we help you with something?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was gona tell you pipsqueaks that Hogwarts was coming up, so you might want to change… What are you doing with a Malfoy in your compartment?"

"Sharing chocolate frogs," Rose said stifling, nodding to the confection in Scorpious's lap. "What's it to you?"

"Whoah… no need to bite heads off, just wonderin…"

"Well there's no need to be wondering," Rose told them, "We like him here, so you can just shue!" The two older boys looked at eachother, then at Albus, who said nothing but was still glaring them down. Deciding perhaps that it was a time for a hasty retreat, they backed out of the compartment and shut the door.

"You didn't have to do that," Scorpious said quietly.

"Yes we did, you're our friend now, remember?" Albus reminded him, "That's what friends do. Besides, I don't like him much right now anyway. He was being a git earlier…"

"Really?" Scorpious said, "What did he do?"

"They kept going on about me being in Slytherin," Albus said, "Then Dad told me it didn't matter. Still," he said crossing his arms, "They shouldn't have done that."

"You couldn't be in Slytherin," Scorpious said, "You're too nice. Besides, you don't crave power, do you?" Rose and Albus gave him funny looks.

"Nooo…." Albus said slowly.

"Then you won't be in Slytherin," Scorpious said matter of factly, "That's what you have to have to be put in there."

"Oh."

Rose looked back and forth between the two boys, and Albus could see a thought building in her brain.

"Let's make a promise, right now," she said suddenly.

"What kind of promise?" Scorpious asked.

"Let's promise that no matter what House we end up in, that we'll always be friends, agreed?" Albus smiled. He knew he could count on Rose for something like that.

"Always?" Scorpious asked, a bit awed. Rosie nodded firmly.

"Always."

"Well how do we do it?" Scorpious asked. Rose looked to Albus, who took charge.

"We all have to put our hands in the middle," Albus said, sticking his own out, "Wand hands, cause that makes it more bonding." Scorpious and Rose complied, then waited for him to continue.

"Then," he said, "We have to come up with a good pledge, and say it together."

"Should we use magic?" Scorpious asked. Albus shook his head.

"That can be tricky if you don't know what your doing," he said, "Besides," he added, "We're wizards, we use magic for everything else. This will make it more important." Rose cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.

"Repeat after me," she said, the two boys nodding.

"We do sollomly swear…"

"We do sollomly swear…"

"To remain true friends…"

"To remain true friends…"

"No matter the obstacles or quarrels…"

"No matter the obstacles or quarrels…"

"To always be there for each other in good times and bad…"

"To always be there for each other in good times and bad…"

"And to keep each other from becoming selfish rotten gits…" There was a pause of surprise and a chuckle from Albus before Rose stared the boys down and they repeated her phrase.

"And to keep each other from becoming selfish rotten gits…"

"And should we quarrel…" she continued.

"And should we quarrel…"

"We will do everything in our power to make up and do what is right by our friends and to our own conscious."

"We will do everything in our power to make up and do what is right…" the boys paused.

"Repeat that again?" Scorpious said. Rose sighed.

"By our friends and to our own conscious," she told them once more.

"By our friends and to our own conscious," they dutifully repeated.

"For now and always," she finished.

"For now and always…" Albus repeated warmly.

"For now and always…" Scorpious repeated, a huge smile on his face. They dropped their hands.

"So… " Scorpious asked, "Is that it? Should we write that down or something?"

"Actually," Albus said, "That's not a bad idea." He turned to Rose, knowing she always had parchment and quill about. Sure enough, she was already digging though her bag.

"Ah, here it is," she said, pulling out a parchment. She tapped it twice with her wand and muttered a few words. Their pledge appeared on the paper, word for word, in curly black script. Scorpious's eyes widened, and Albus let out a low whistle.

"You never fail to amaze me Rosie," he said. Rose blushed at the praise.

"Oh, it's nothing," she insisted, "Just something I picked up from Mum."

"Ah," Albus nodded in understanding. Rose's Mom was well known to be utterly brilliant, therefore he let it slide. Scorpious, however, continued to regard Rose with a bit of awe.

"I'll keep hold of this for now," Rose said, tucking the pledge into her bag, "But I'll get better parchment later, and make copies for you."

"Just don't lose it in that black hole you call a bag," Albus reminded her, "I want to save the original."

"Oh like I'd really do that…" Rose said in a huff. Albus chuckled, and looked over to Scorpious, who was regarding them both with a large grin.

"What's that for?" Albus asked, curious.

"It's nothing," Scorpious said shaking his head. Now Rose, done with her ten second pout, was also looking over in curiousity.

"No, really, what?" Albus asked again, a grin beginning to spread on his face as well.

"Well, it's just…" Scorpious looked over to Rose, where his grin had caught on as well, then back to Albus. _Who knew his grin would be so contagious?_ Albus thought to himself.

"It's just that I've only been on this train a couple hours," he said, "And I already got two best friends." Albus chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you do."

They sat there for awhile, feeling good about themselves and the world, before Rose suggested they get their robes on. The two boys agreed, and stood to reach for their trunks. As Albus pulled his down, he turned to watch Scorpious offer to get Rose's for her. He really was a good guy, he mused. He didn't deserve people sneering at him for his name. Scorpious just needed a couple friends to pull him out of his shell.

_And now he has some, _Albus told himself firmly. He considered the whole odd situtation, and remembered vaughly what his Dad had said about his own best friends. Albus grinned to himself at the thought.

_The best kind of friends are always made on train rides…_

**I like this one, especially the ending. Anyways, yes I know, making a best friend pact when they've only just met? But seriously, they're eleven years old. Eleven year olds do that kind of thing. The only question os how seriously they're actually gona take it. Seeing as it's Hermione's and Harry's kid with some poor child who's never had a friend before, I see them taking it _very_ seriously, don't you?**

**Anyways, tell me what you think. One doesn't need to worry too much about getting them in character, seeing as they were in the book for like, ten seconds, but still, anything else you think could use tinkering, or if you like it just the way it is. What ever.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading!**

**Gwen**


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